Trade Show Specialist II

Inspired by Hard Work

At Carhartt, the values of hard work—dependability, honesty, and trust—are rooted in the legacy of our founder, Hamilton Carhartt. His commitment to serving hardworking people continues to inspire everything we do. Guided by his legacy and our mission—We serve and protect all hardworking people by building durable products—we remain dedicated to upholding these principles in every decision we make and every product we create.

Position Details:
Title: Trade Show Specialist II
Department: Marketing
Reports to: Manager of Trade Shows
Location: Dearborn, MI
Job Classification: Hybrid

Job Summary

The Trade Show & Brand Experience Specialist II is responsible for leading the planning and execution of trade show and event experiences that bring the Carhartt brand to life across North America. This role owns event execution roadmaps, product assortment planning, visual merchandising implementation, and agency execution across a portfolio of trade shows, customer events, and brand activations.

Associate Responsibilities

• Own the execution roadmap for 70+ annual trade shows, customer events, industry activations, and brand experiences across North America.
• Lead cross-functional event planning and execution from seasonal kickoff through event completion.
• Own product assortment planning and presentation strategy for events in partnership with Merchandising, Product Marketing, Sales, and Marketing teams.
• Develop and execute visual merchandising strategies that bring seasonal campaigns and product stories to life.
• Serve as the primary day-to-day lead for experiential agencies and production partners.
• Create and manage event briefs communicating objectives, audience targets, product priorities, and creative expectations.
• Lead floorplan development, product placement, environmental design reviews, and event experience planning.
• Manage event budgets and expenses, including purchase orders, invoice reconciliation, and cost optimization opportunities.
• Partner with Project Management to ensure project plans, schedules, and deliverables remain on track.
• Oversee onsite event setup and execution ensuring approved merchandising standards and brand assets are implemented.
• Develop post-event evaluations, insights, and recommendations to improve future event effectiveness.
• Build strong partnerships across Marketing, Sales, Merchandising, Product Marketing, Visual Merchandising, and agencies.

Required Education

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, Merchandising, Retail Marketing, Event Management, or related field required. Equivalent experience may be considered in lieu of degree.

Required Skills & Experience

• 5+ years of experience in experiential marketing, trade show management, event marketing, visual merchandising, retail marketing, or related fields.
• Experience leading end-to-end execution of trade shows and branded environments.
• Strong visual merchandising expertise including product presentation, styling, fixture planning, and storytelling.
• Experience developing product assortments and translating business objectives into physical brand experiences.
• Experience managing agencies, vendors, budgets, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Strong project management, communication, and organizational skills.
• Ability to travel up to 20%.

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions

• Office environment.
• Travel up to 20%, including trade shows and customer events.
• Ability to stand for extended periods during events and participate in setup and teardown activities as needed.
• This position has a Hybrid location: Associate will work on-site regularly as needed for work activities.
• Carhartt is a tobacco free workplace.

This position offers a comprehensive suite of medical, dental, and vision insurance for associates and their dependents. In addition to healthcare coverage, Carhartt provides short-term and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, an employee assistance program, and a 401(k) plan with employer matching contributions. Employees can also benefit from paid time off and designated paid holidays.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, disability, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, sexual orientation, age, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

All associates are required to understand and act in accordance with the Carhartt Core Values. Carhartt reserves the right to change, modify, suspend, interpret or cancel in whole or in any part, the job duties outlined above at any time and without advance notice to the employee.